Numerous devices employ a hard disk drive (HDD). These types of devices may include one or more operational modes that may be triggered based on various conditions, such as device activity or device inactivity. In some instances, the HDD may be in a spin-down state. Thereafter, the HDD may awaken based on an access request. However, before the HDD can return to active operation and service the access request, the HDD must spin-up. In this regard, the time to spin-up the HDD results in latency and sub-optimal performance. Read-ahead operations may be utilized to minimize the response time of the HDD; however, the spin-up time still exists and does not begin until after the access request is received.